Reworking Traditions
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsayLucy. Halloween themed oneshot set during season 9. "YES!" Lucy cried. "You guessed right! Do I look cute?" "Lucy, you could be dressed in a garbage bag and you'd still be cute," Danny ruffled her long silky locks playfully.


**A/N: So, Fred is unstoppable apparently. ck put her request for Lucy and Halloween, and he's put a twist on it. I felt like I wanted to do something a little different, because Rhymes posted a wonderful DLL story about them trick-or-treating (it's adorable, seriously)... so i thought... well, you'll see.**

**Also, can I shamelessly plug? Yes? okay. I think if you haven't, you should go check out the story I posted yesterday... It's m rated as a request from alexindigo based on 9x04. I think you guys will like it.**

**So before I give too much away, I hope you enjoy this one.**

* * *

Using the remaining few bars of her phone's battery life, Lindsay used it's backlight to help her ease her key into the lock of the apartment. Thankfully she'd been able to charge it at the lab but over the course of the day, it had just been drained with her father's voice messages from the past two days. She'd tried to tell him that her phone would be off, as would Danny's to save the battery life in case of an emergency… but clearly he hadn't thought of that when he was calling the fifty times he had. He only worried, and she did love him… but listening to ten messages of the same questions for five minutes was grating.

Things at work for the most part had been slow. They'd taken it in turns to go in. With the streets of New York almost completely deserted, it had been a case of catching up on paperwork and reorganising the lab equipment. But, this being said, because life inside the lab was slow, it didn't mean that the winds of Hurricane Sandy hadn't died down any outside of the lab walls. Trees that had been rooted within the ground for sixty years had been ripped from their foundations easily. Central Park was an absolute mess and for the seven years that Lindsay had lived in New York, she'd never seen it such a mess. Well, she'd seen it in devastation mode eleven years ago, but that wasn't something she wanted to think about.

Compared to others, they had been lucky. They'd lost power about three hours into Sandy's brutal attack on their neighbourhood, and it was estimated that they wouldn't get the power back until the weekend. Which granted wasn't the best, but it could have been worse.

Danny had taken it upon himself to prepare the apartment for the worst. With Isaac the year before, he'd laughed when Lindsay had come back with bottled water and other vital survival items. And granted, his laughter was justified with the 'devastation' Isaac had caused to lawn chairs across the city. So, with Danny's reaction to Isaac the year before, Lindsay was surprised when he'd come home from work one night armed with various reinforcements. He'd directed her to the news and she'd realised why he'd taken it so seriously. Images of Atlantic City taking a massive beating had scared her… considering New York was in Sandy's line of sight. So together, they'd boarded up their windows… just in case. They'd littered candles all over the apartment and had sat down with Lucy to explain what might happen. They debated whether or not to let her watch the news of the scenes from Atlantic City, and in the end, they'd decided against it. If she came across it, then it would be okay… but they didn't want to worry their precious little thing unnecessarily.

The little girl's main concern however was Halloween. Over the past few years they'd gone around his mother's neighbourhood in Staten Island and graced all of Danny's old neighbours with her adorable smiling face. With Sandy on her way, they'd decided to change Halloween slightly. Thankfully Mac had managed to secure both Danny and Lindsay their annual Halloween night off together and they had big plans for Lucy.

Lucikly on her way home, battling the remaining winds that lingered in the air, Lindsay had found a dedicated Bodega owner about a block and a half away from their apartment. He'd set up a station for those who were struggling in the aftermath and for tourists who were still stranded because of the storm. He'd decorated the shop in a Halloween wonderland, and while she was walking around the small shop, Lindsay had felt herself fall in love with New York more than what she already had. Usually, she'd walk right past the little bodega, in a rush, just like every other New Yorker, but today, she was reminded of one of the reasons why she wanted to move to New York… when New York was faced with disaster, people clubbed together and made the best out of a bad situation. There were so many people offering the shop keeper donations for him to forward onto the Red Cross and also for his own benefit… for being the shining light in the darkness for many, one person had said.

Lindsay had picked up a few vital items for their Halloween night together. She'd managed to get her hands on a pumpkin, some cupcakes and frosting and candy. While they didn't expect many trick-or-treaters, it was better to be safe than sorry… and if there weren't many – she knew of two certain Messers that would surely put the candy to a good home when left to their own devices.

Finally hearing the lock click, she pushed open the door and was greeted by the glow of candles from all over the apartment. She had to admit that she really liked the ambience of the apartment with the candles providing them with light. It created a calming and loving mood and when compared with the brutal winds from the outside, it was welcomed with open arms.

"Is that you, Montana?" Danny called out to her.

"Hey, yeah." She said as she balanced the bags she'd carried home with the pumpkin under her arm. "I found somewhere open."

"You're amazing!" Danny implored as he emerged from Lucy's bedroom with his face painted.

"And you look like a pumpkin." Lindsay laughed. "Did you get into the face paints or something?" she smirked as she closed the distance between the two of them. She puckered her lips to prevent any of the orange face paint to stain her own face. "You do realise that we have no hot water, right?"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that." He sighed heavily. "Lucy told me I could use baby wipes."

"Oh, that's sweet of her." Lindsay bit her lip. "I take it you dressing like a pumpkin wasn't voluntary."

"You could say that." He deadpanned as he gestured down to the orange t-shirt he was wearing. "I didn't even know I had this colour t-shirt. She found it in one of my drawers."

"I told you to throw all that crap away." Lindsay smirked as she handed him one of the grocery bags. "But did you listen… oh no."

"Well, I'm paying the price now." He smirked as he went to turn the kitchen light on before sighing. "This shit is getting old."

"Not enjoying the simple life, honey?" she asked over her shoulder as she pulled a candle closer to her.

"In a word, no." he growled. "And I only just remembered I promised Flack I'd go over to his place and get Grace."

"Oh yeah," Lindsay sighed. "He gave me the keys earlier." She said, digging in her coat pocket.

"How was work?" Danny asked as he accepted Flack's apartment keys and put them on the countertop.

"Okay. Slow. You were right, I'd take a double shift over rearranging the test-tubes."

"Thrilling, isn't it." Danny smirked.

Lindsay wiggled her eyebrows as she unloaded the ready-made cupcakes, frosting and Halloween themed decorations. "Lucy!" she called out. "I'm home… and I have the cupcakes."

"YOU DO?!" A little voice bellowed from somewhere in the dark apartment.

"Yeah, come see." Lindsay replied with an equally loud voice.

"Jesus." Danny muttered as he rubbed his ears to stop the ringing. "Like mother, like daughter. You guys need an inside voice."

"Whatever," Lindsay smirked before kneeling down on the floor and catching Lucy as she launched herself at Lindsay and peppered her mother's face with kisses. "Now," Lindsay laughed as she prised Lucy from her. "Are you just happy to see me, or are you giving me kisses because I brought you cupcakes?"

"Both!" Lucy grinned before glancing at Danny. "Mommy, did you see that Daddy is a pumpkin?"

"I did see that." Lindsay bit her lip as she looked up to Danny. "I wonder who convinced him to be a pumpkin."

"He wanted to do it all by himself," Lucy shrugged dramatically, her cheeks turning pink.

"Hmm," Lindsay wiggled her eyebrows at Danny playfully before turning to face Lucy. "And let me see you… you have whiskers, a cute, black button nose and some fluffy ears," Lindsay said as she played with the material that was attached to a headband that sat proudly on her daughter's head. "You're not a witch's black cat are you?"

"YES!" Lucy cried. "You guessed right! Do I look cute?"

"Lucy, you could be dressed in a garbage bag and you'd still be cute," Danny ruffled her long silky locks playfully. "Speaking of cute, I better go and get the d-o-g."

"Daddy, I know how to spell dog." Lucy deadpanned as she wrapped her arms around Lindsay's neck. Sighing heavily, Lindsay stood and settled Lucy on her hip.

"Hey, no. I told you before, you're too big to be carried now." Danny said as he tried to untangle his wife and daughter from one another. "Mommy doesn't need to be carrying you all over the place."

"I missed her today." Lucy batted her eyelashes.

Sighing heavily, Danny rolled his eyes before grabbing Flack's apartment keys from the counter. "You can play me like piano, kid."

"What does that even mean?" Lucy implored, scrunching her nose so that she unknowingly looked like the spitting image of her mother.

"Never mind," Danny rolled his eyes as he grabbed a flashlight from the counter. "Alright, I'm going to get the dog." He rolled his eyes. "The things we do for that man."

"Don't forget her food." Lindsay instructed. "And there's a bed she sleeps on apparently."

"He can f-u-c-k off." Danny scoffed, spelling the profanity out so that Lucy wasn't subjected to his colourful language. "I'm getting the dog and her food and the rest of it can just stay right there. It's his dog… we're only having her because of the storm and he's on a night. This isn't going to be a regular thing, let me make that clear… and before anyone else gets it into their head, we're not getting a dog of our own, understood?"

"Yes," both Lindsay and Lucy sighed together in sync.

"Good," he smirked before pressing a kiss to both of their foreheads. "Alright, I love you knuckleheads. I'll see you in an hour. Do we need anything?"

"Get some bottled water," Lindsay said. "And maybe some… I don't know. Ugh… whatever you think. If you see a bodega can you stop and pick up some things that don't need power to heat or a fridge to keep it in."

"Anything else, your majesty?" He smirked.

"Yeah, just make sure you keep safe." Lindsay smiled softly before stepping towards him with Lucy in her arms and pressing a kiss to his lips. "And one more thing… you should probably go and find those wipes Lucy promised you could use. Unless you don't mind everyone braving the storm to see you dressed as a pumpkin."

"Hmmm." He scowled as he narrowed his eyes at Lucy. "Yeah, thanks for that baby."

Burying her head in Lindsay's neck, Lucy giggled as Danny disappeared from the kitchen into the living room.

Turning to her daughter, Lindsay smiled softly as she listened to the giggles of her little girl; they warmed her heart and she absolutely couldn't imagine her life without her little bundle of joy. She squeezed her in a hug before setting her down on the countertop, mindful of the candles that were scattered everywhere.

"Okay then, kiddo." Lindsay smiled. "How about we get your stool and we can start decorating those cupcakes?"

"Yes!" Lucy squealed excitedly, kicking her legs against the cabinets as Lindsay sought out the pink booster stool so that Lucy could help with cooking and baking. She placed it by the countertop and lifted Lucy from her spot and placed her on the step.

"Okay then," Lindsay smiled as she opened up the plastic container and placed the six vanilla and chocolate cupcakes in front of Lucy. Lucy leant forward and inhaled the scent of the cupcakey goodness before making an appreciative 'yummmm' noise. Lindsay laughed before finding the vanilla frosting and placing that on the counter too.

"Vanilla?" Lucy asked as she traced her index finger across the writing on the label. "Good choice, Mommy."

"You can read vanilla?" Lindsay implored. "When did you get so clever?"

"Well, I didn't really read it," Lucy admitted. "I saw the V and Vanilla is the only V word I know that would be on a frosting jar… but I could probably sound out all the letters if I wanted to."

"You're so clever," Lindsay smiled as she pressed a kiss to Lucy's temple. "Okay, so chocolate or vanilla cupcake?" she asked as she opened up the drawer and found the spatula that they used to spread frosting on cakes and cupcakes.

"Vanilla on vanilla!" Lucy cried. "Yum, yum, yum!"

"I agree," Lindsay smiled as she took out a vanilla cupcake and placed it in front of Lucy. "Alright then," she began. "Nice and even spreading remember. Not too much frosting."

"I know," Lucy sighed as she meticulously spread the frosting over the cake like a pro baker. "I watch Buddy with Nana on TLC, Mommy. I_know_how to frost a cupcake."

"Oh, I do apologise." Lindsay smirked at her daughter. "There was me thinking you were still my little four year old that needed her mommy to help her when they frosted things."

"Well, I might need your help," Lucy pursed her lips together. "Because I'm only six… but I can nearly do it by myself."

Lindsay leant against the counter and watched as Lucy turned the cupcake as she spread the frosting on the small surface. There was a time that the counter would have been covered in frosting, along with their clothing, faces and fingers… but now, Lucy had finally seemed to crack the art of applying frosting to cupcakes. The one thing she and Lucy had done so many times together was now something Lucy could do solo, and she felt her heart strings being pulled at the bittersweet sentiment of her daughter gaining independence but reducing the need for Lindsay to hold her hand while doing something. Lindsay blinked herself out of her reverie and was greeted by Lucy's tongue poking through her lips as she concentrated carefully on the edges of the cupcake. Lindsay moved forward to take the spatula from her but stopped herself and let Lucy do it herself.

She stood quietly watching Lucy before she heard her little girl sigh and turn her head. "Mommy, can you help me?"

Feeling a rush of emotions in her chest, Lindsay blinked back the tears in her eyes and nodded as she took hold of the spatula over Lucy's hand like they had countless times in the past and together, they frosted the edge of the cupcake perfectly.

Sometimes, Lindsay thought to herself as she watched Lucy's proud face smiling up at her, she figured that while giving her little girl the freedom to grow was all well and good, but in giving her those moments of freedom, the times where she reverted back to needing Lindsay meant more than they did before. And although it'd take a lot to get used to, it was something Lindsay was going to hold onto.

* * *

"Can we please eat them yet?" Lucy sighed as she jumped up and down as Lindsay lit some new candles in the living room.

"No!" Lindsay cried for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Daddy will be back any minute with Grace and then we can have one, okay? But we need to wait for Daddy."

"He won't know if we have just one." Lucy blinked innocently.

"But do we really want Daddy to miss out?" Lindsay countered. "I think Daddy would be so sad if he knew you'd had your first Halloween cupcake without him."

"I guess," Lucy sighed. "What are we doing next… can we go trick or treating?"

"It's still windy outside. Sandy's still being a little mean to New York. You can go outside and trick or treat if you want, but I think Grace, Daddy and I will stay up here in the nice, warm apartment. Is that okay?"

Sighing heavily Lucy flopped onto the couch. "I don't want to go by myself."

"Well, how about we play a game instead?"

"Hide and seek?"

"No," Lindsay rolled her eyes; for the life in her she couldn't understand the obsession her little girl had with hide and seek. "I meant an actual game… like a board game."

"Oh." Lucy frowned. "But board games are boring," she complained.

"Hey, they aren't boring," Lindsay said as she took a seat next to her daughter. "When I was your age my Mommy and I used to play board games all the time."

"I like board games on your phone." Lucy smiled. "Can I play on your iphone?"

"You know that Daddy doesn't like you playing with it. We're supposed to keep that quiet, remember?"

"I know." She sighed heavily. "But… Mommy. I'm bored. I don't like Sandy. She makes you boring. We've had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so much."

"But you like peanut butter and jelly." Lindsay furrowed her brow.

"I do," Lucy nodded. "But I bored of it."

"I'm bored of it," Lindsay corrected. "I know sweetheart, but until the power's back there's not much Mommy can do about that. Maybe Daddy will bring some nice treats back."

"Yeah." She sighed heavily. As silence fell between them, they heard Danny's voice in the hallway shouting at his companion to sit still while he opened up the door. Based on his tone, Lindsay smirked as she estimate whereabouts Danny's stress level would be on a scale of one to ten; at present it was probably about eleven… and when Lucy and Grace were reunited, it would probably rocket off the chart completely.

The door burst open and Grace shot in the apartment with the leash hanging off her collar. She barked excitedly and Lucy shot up off the couch to greet her playmate.

"Damn dog," Danny muttered as he stumbled through the door with the plastic bags. "She's a pain in my butt… makes sense that she's Flack's dog really. He owes me so much."

Ignoring her grumpy husband, Lindsay scratched Grace's ears playfully as Lucy squealed and accepted Grace's kisses.

"Ignore me all you want," Danny scowled, "But we're not getting a dog."

"We heard you before, Daddy." Lucy sighed as she patted Grace's fur. "Mommy says you'll give in eventually though."

"Oh does she?" he implored as he dropped the bags on the floor and unzipped his coat. "We'll see about that." He smirked.

"Who wants a cupcake?" Lindsay smirked.

* * *

"I win!" Lucy cried as her piece landed on the rainbow square for the second time.

"I don't even know how she's doin' this," Danny smirked as he leant back against the couch and laid his hand on Grace, who had settled in her spot inbetween him and Lucy. He patted her fur before leaning down to pick his next card to advance on the _CandyLand _board.

"Because she's the _CandyLand_queen." Lindsay smiled. "Do you think Mommy or Daddy is going to come next."

"Grace!" She cried as she lay on the floor next to Grace and nuzzled her face against the dog's fur.

"Probably," Danny laughed as Lindsay picked another card and moved her counter. "I think we're in big trouble," Danny said quietly as he nodded down to Lucy. "Flack might not be getting her back."

"He treats that dog like royalty," Lindsay smirked. "He said last week he made them Eggs Benedict or something. I didn't even know Flack knew how to make Eggs Benedict. Could you imagine?"

"I'd rather not." Danny smirked as he grabbed the next card and moved his counter. "I'll tell you what though Linds," he glanced at Lucy to see if she was occupied with Grace, which she was. When he realised he could talk freely to Lindsay, he smiled. "Did you ever think that we'd spend our nights off playing _CandyLand _with our daughter and a dog?"

Lindsay smiled as she moved her counter closer to the finish line. "In my wildest dreams, maybe." She giggled as she shuffled towards him. "I definitely didn't pin you as a _CandyLand_ fan."

"Well when you've got a little princess that you'd do anything for, you reassess some of your life."

"No kidding," Lindsay smiled. "If I had asked you to play CandyLand with me when we were dating you would have laughed in my face."

"Yeah, because I know you would have been jokin'." He smirked as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "If I figured you were serious, I would have. I would have done anything for you; moved mountains… walked over hot coals… you name it, I would'a done it."

"I know," she smiled softly as she placed her counter on the rainbow finish. "Daddy loses."

"I knew it," Lucy whispered in Grace's ear before moving her own counter back to the start. "AGAIN!"

"No," Danny cried. "Not again baby." He sighed. "Please, let's play another game or something."

"But I like this game." Lucy pouted.

"I know you do, but aren't you bored of it? I mean you don't have to do much…"

"Danny, she's six."

"Yeah, but." He glanced at Lindsay. "She's known her colours since she was three."

"So?" Lucy scoffed. "I want to play again."

"How about I go get some of the candy bars and lollypops I got from the store?" Lindsay suggested. "Maybe we can bribe Daddy to play." She winked in Lucy's direction.

"Yeahhhh," Lucy whispered conspiratorially, attempting to wink at Lindsay but blinked instead.

"You're such a goofball," Danny laughed as he pulled her towards him and rubbed his fist over her head and ruffled her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

Smiling at her two most favourite people, Lindsay stood to get the fun sized candy bars from the kitchen. As she walked away, she could hear their giggles and whispers of some practical joke they were undoubtedly going to play on her when she sat back down. As scary, dangerous and inconvenient as Hurricane Sandy had been, for Lindsay, it had given her the chance to spend quality time with her family and with the pace of their life; it was something that didn't happen often. She knew that thousands of people would be reflecting on how much time they spent with loved ones and many would have been reaching out to relatives and friends… Halloween could have been a hectic rush around the neighbourhood before Lucy's bedtime, running from one house to another… and while they would have spent some quality time together nothing, Lindsay thought, could beat frosting cupcakes, playing board games and giggling with her two loves.

"Hey Mommy, we're wastin' away here!" Danny called. "You growin' the cocoa beans yourself?"

"Funny." She rolled her eyes as she grabbed the assortment of candy from the counter and headed back into the living room and chucked it at Danny, hitting him square in the chest. "Hah!" she smirked.

"Alright, that's it." Danny scowled as he stood and trampled over the board game and grabbed Lindsay before she could scramble away from him. "Tickle attack!" he cried as he picked Lindsay up in the air and launched her onto the couch. Grace barked as she watched the Messers' play. Lucy looked between her two parents with bright eyes and stood quickly from her spot on the floor and jumped onto the couch and sat on Lindsay's chest as she moved her fingers against Lindsay's sides in an attempt to tickle Lindsay, just like her father had declared.

Somehow, in and amongst tickling Lindsay, the defense and attack combined and turned on their littlest soldier. Pinning Lucy to couch, Danny held up Lucy's arm so Lindsay could tickle Lucy in all of Lucy's ticklish spots. The little girl's squeals of delight was music to both Danny and Lindsay's ears.

When she was gasping for breath from her giggles, Danny let her go and she scrambled into Lindsay's side before squeezing her arms tightly against her side and surveying Lindsay carefully to see if she was going to attack with a sneak tickle attack.

"It's okay, tickle monster has gone," Lindsay smiled reassuringly as Lucy relaxed against Lindsay's side.

"Good," Lucy smiled. Her little chest heaved for a moment, letting Danny settle next to her on the couch. Grace too settled after the commotion of their tickle fight. Smiling, Danny laid an arm across the back of the sofa, enclosing his girls in a protective shield. It didn't go unnoticed by Lindsay and she could only smile at his gesture.

After a few deep breaths Lucy finally captured her breath back and she reached for a hand from both of her parents. When their hands were wrapped around Lucy's littler one, they glanced down to her as she looked up with bright blue eyes and smiled.

"This has been the best Halloween ever." She said softly. "Can we do this again next year?"

Danny and Lindsay looked at each other over the little girl that they'd made together six years ago and smiled.

"We can do it every year until you tell us it's not cool anymore." Danny said. "Promise." He added with a wiggle of his pinky finger. Lindsay quickly offered her's and the three of them made a pinky promise that every year on Halloween, they'd frost cupcakes, play _Candyland_ and eat fun sized candy bars.

Lindsay smiled brightly as she let out a contended sigh. Sometimes, you just didn't realise the true value of a moment until it became a memory… and she knew that when she looked back on this moment, it would be one that she would treasure for many years.

There were many things that Halloween was, but for Lindsay, Halloween boiled down to one thing: spending time with her perfect little family.

* * *

**There we have it, I hope you guys enjoyed this twist on Halloween. In all seriousness, I hope anyone on the east coast is safe and well. We're sending good vibes and thoughts to you all! **

**Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear from you! :) 3**


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